


You are here

by Trammel



Series: Out of the Wormhole [9]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Anxiety, Dum-E - Freeform, Gen, Panic Attacks, Post-Iron Man 3, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Jarvis (Iron Man movies), Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-29
Updated: 2018-11-29
Packaged: 2019-09-02 05:21:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16780414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trammel/pseuds/Trammel
Summary: Tony has to keep building, he has to, but how can he when he can't breathe?





	You are here

It hurts. It hurts.

It's not the pain of the reactor, which you've practically gotten used to now. It's not the physical pain of your lungs struggling to draw in enough air because you lost chunks of them when Yinsen enacted his crazy plan to save your life.

It's not that.

It's a pain, a physical pain, but it's coming from a place within your chest that technically shouldn't even exist anymore. It's filled with machinery.

But it's there. Taking your breath away. Making your legs feel weak. So you crawl up in a ball against the wall of the workshop, surrounded by all your creations, so many, one after another-

_keep going, keep building, maybe one of these will make you feel safe, help you keep everyone safe-_

You are bent over, your hands covering the reactor (you couldn't keep him from taking it, you almost couldn't keep it from killing you, you couldn't keep it from shutting down when you were up there, you couldn't-)

\- willing your brain to shut up!shut up!shut up!shut up!

_stop please…_

_it hurts…_

Closing your eyes doesn't help because then you see the stars, the black expanse of it all, the explosions

_No!_

You open your eyes and remember, JARVIS told you, to focus on where you are. You can hear his voice.

"….2013. You are in your workshop. Dum-E is 2 feet to your left…"

JARVIS, pulling you back to reality. You look, and Dum-E is there, slowly approaching you, his beeping distressed.

_breathe_

Can you breathe? Maybe. You try. It's hard, and it hurts, but you listen to JARVIS' voice and try again.

"Very good, Sir. Try breathing in for four seconds, holding for four…"

You nod at J and try, listening to him. You are not far away in that darkness. You lost him in that darkness. Lost everybody and thought-

 _No! Don't think about that._ Think about where you are. You are here. You are here.

You try, you are trying so hard, and slowly you manage to breathe a bit better. Dum-E comes right up to your side. You put one hand down on the floor and you feel the solid floor underneath you and Dum-E beside you. You hear JARVIS' voice. They are here with you.

It hurts, it still hurts, but it hurts less.

You are here and you will keep breathing. And in a few minutes you _will_ get up again and keep working.

Keep going.

You will.

Because that's what you do.


End file.
